Some might say that there is little point to taking a young baby to Disneyland Paris, but I have to say I disagree. I have been lucky enough to take my baby to Disneyland Paris twice now! We visited Disney Paris with our baby boy once at 4 months old and again at 10 months old.
This is undeniably because I have a Disney addiction but getting to share these experiences with my little man has been incredible.
Having also been to Disneyland Paris with a toddler, when we went with my friend and her 18-month-old toddler, I think it’s safe to say I’ve got lots of Disney Paris tips to share.
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1. Plan and Prepare for Disney with a Baby
My number one tip for Disneyland Paris with a baby is to plan and prepare, especially if you’re only doing a few days. Knowing what your priorities are makes it easier to keep the day running smoothly and keep any stresses at bay!
The Disneyland Paris app is an absolute must for this. For example, for us on this last trip it was all about the 30th anniversary celebrations, the shows, parades and characters.
I have done the rides many times and my friend doesn’t like big rides so they were less important for this trip. This made a big difference to how we planned the trip to get the most out of it.
It’s worth noting that you don’t have to pay entry to the park for under 3 years old!
2. Take Advantage of Extra Magic Time
The Extra Magic Time is usually for an hour before park opening times in both parks although this can vary. Extra Magic Time is available for anyone staying onsite at a Disney hotel or annual pass holders.
I have had an annual pass before and stayed off site – which obviously makes for lovely affordable little trips, but I’ve also stayed onsite without an annual pass.
There are usually rides open and a couple of characters out during that extra hour. This is a great way to avoid some of the bigger queues and start the day off on a high. It’s also a great time for a quieter castle shot!
3. Enjoy the Character Interactions, Parades & Shows
My absolute highlights of going with a baby to Disneyland Paris is the character interactions; for the most part these have been off the scale amazing! So many of the Disney characters have taken that little extra time with our baby and making it extra special.
Even when he’s been asleep in our travel stroller and has no idea what is going on, we love capturing great photos to show him when he’s older.
The other things that have been amazing, more so on our most recent trip, have been the parades and shows. At 10 months old, our baby especially loved the 30th anniversary parade show at Disneyland Paris.
There was so much going on that everywhere you looked there was something to be watching, which with a 10-month-old was perfect. This was the first time that anything of this kind held his attention for the whole show so that was amazing to watch.
The other show that definitely needs a special mention for little people is the Disney Junior Dream Factory, it is an absolute must see (and a great way of avoiding the hot sun or rain for a little while)!
4. Research Disney Paris Rides with a Baby
I was pleasantly surprised at how many rides babies and toddlers can go on at Disneyland Paris. When you look in the app anything that doesn’t have a height restriction, is a ride you can take babies or toddlers on.
When our baby was 4 months old, we could take him on some Disney rides in travel baby carrier.
Rides at Disneyland Paris with a toddler were slightly harder. At 10 months old, as he just wanted to stand in the seat and look around, which wasn’t ideal and got me a few disapproving looks from the cast members – but I think they could appreciate that I was trying!
5. Use Baby Swap / Rider Switch at Disneyland
For the bigger rides at Disneyland, parents don’t need to miss out! While you obviously can’t take the little ones on these rides, you can do baby swap. When you get off of the ride at the exit you can ask for a Rider Switch Ticket. This allows parents to take turns on the adult rides without having to get in line twice.
6. Where to Stay at Disneyland Paris with a Baby
When visiting Disneyland Paris with a baby, we’ve stayed at a couple of different places.
Résidence Du Parc
For offsite accommodations, we stayed at Résidence Du Parc.
These are little individual apartments in varying sizes. We stayed in one with 2 bedrooms, a little lounge, a kitchenette area with sink, fridge, kettle etc.
This worked really well for us at the time. We didn’t ask for a travel crib, as I was happy cosleeping. It’s basic and clean, needs a little TLC, but I would stay there again as it was really affordable.
Davy Crockett Ranch
On our most recent trip to Disneyland Paris with a baby, we stayed at Davy Crockett Ranch. This is always a lovely place to stay. The rooms are quite small and the travel cot we requested didn’t fit in the bedroom though it did fit in the lounge area.
Overall, the site is great, it has a fun swimming pool, alongside a park, a shop and a woodland trail. There are also a few other activities, making this an ideal place for a longer trip to, especially if I wasn’t planning on doing full park days every day.
Each cabin has some bench seating outside and it’s a lovely setting, set in the woods, a great contrast to the busyness and noise in the parks.
One of the possible drawbacks for some is the breakfast is a takeaway picnic style rather than being in the onsite restaurant as it is with the other hotels but we actually found this really handy as we could just take most of it with us for snacks throughout the day. They definitely weren’t stingy in their portions for this.
We had a meal plan for our stay and I loved using the buffet restaurants so we could try different foods with our 10 month old. They don’t provide a meal plan option for under 3 years old, as they are allowed to share your food or you have to buy their food separately – so this was another huge plus for the buffet.
We did do one meal not at the buffet though and the portions were perfectly fine for sharing with our baby.
7. Using at Stroller at Disneyland Paris
One of our biggest challenges that I’ve faced in all the trips with the little one has been that in most restaurants, shows, rides and any indoor character meets you can’t take your stroller in with you.
They do all have dedicated stroller parking outside so you’re not walking a long way with your little one. While we typically just let naps happen when they happen, there have been a number of times I ended up either waking a sleeping baby or walking around just for the sake of it.
While we had no issues leaving our infant travel stroller in the parking area, I have heard of people having their stroller taken. A great tip, if you are worried about leaving your stroller, is to take a bike lock and pop it through the wheels.
I also carry a small shoulder bag for valuables so that I didn’t need to double check I wasn’t leaving anything in the stroller, I just grab the bag and go. A small diaper bag backpack would also work well for this!
One other tip about using a stroller at Disney is that it can be quite a bit of time restricted to being in the stroller when you are in lines during the day. I found letting him out to stand and explore a bit while in line was a great solution.
Most people at Disney are there with children so they were all very understanding.
8. Using a Baby Carrier at Disneyland Paris
While a Disney-approved stroller is the easiest way to navigate through the parks, we always bring a baby carrier with us as well.
On our first trip to Disneyland Paris with a 4 month old baby, who needed a lot more sleep, I used a stretchy wrap which allowed him to nap on and off throughout the day.
On our most recent trip when he was 10 months old, I just woke him up if he happened to fall asleep when we needed him out of the stroller.
We tried to use his naps as times to queue for a good parade spot or meet outside characters.
Thankfully for our baby, he would quite happily nap in either the carrier or the stroller during the day, so naps were never a major problem for us.
9. Feeding Baby at Disneyland Paris
For feeding I just breastfed when needed and felt comfortable doing it the entire time.
For anyone who doesn’t feel so comfortable it is worth noting there is a baby care centre in each park. I’ve been in the one in the main park, where there were multiple changing stations, toilets, a microwave, highchairs, and highbacked chairs for feeding (these were very welcomed when it was cold, dark, late and busy in the park for the Halloween party – great to have somewhere quiet to sit out of the cold).
You don’t need to go back to here each time you need to change though as there were changing stations in all the toilets that I went into in the parks.
You’ll also find highchairs and bottle warmers at all Disney Restaurants, meaning you don’t need to worry about packing a travel high chair or a bottle warmer for travel!
10. What to Pack for a Baby at Disneyland Paris
Here are the items I recommend packing (including some I wish I had). Click here for a full baby packing list for travel.
Baby headphones: Baby headphones are so helpful to have for things like the fireworks and the Halloween party where there is lots of loud music.
Disney-approved stroller: I nearly decided not to take a stroller on the first trip as I know you have to leave them a lot and I was quite happy baby wearing, but, if nothing else it makes a great dumping ground for all your stuff and your baby travel essentials.
Baby carrier: I found a baby carrier for Disney so helpful, especially in those instances where we had to park the stroller.
Travel change mat: A portable change mat is helpful for changing your baby in the public toilets.
So, can Disneyland Paris with a baby be done and enjoyed…… Absolutely!!
FAQs for Disneyland Paris with a Baby
Is Disneyland Paris good for babies?
Definitely! The Disneyland Paris parks are even well set up with highchairs and bottle warmers in all the restaurants. You’ll also find Baby Care Centres plus diaper changing tables in most restrooms.
You can even rent strollers at Disneyland Paris if you aren’t traveling with your own. Accessibility maps are a great way to navigate around the Disney Parks with a stroller!
What can babies do at Disneyland Paris?
Babies will love the Character Interactions at Disneyland Paris and can even go on some rides. You can also enjoy some relaxing walks throughout the park while your baby is napping in the stroller, like La Cabane des Robinson, Adventure Isle, Le Passage Enchante d’Aladdin, or Alice’s Curious Labyrinth.
What rides can a baby ride at Disneyland Paris?
Babies can go on the rides at Disneyland Paris that don’t have any height restrictions, however parents will need to use their own discretion to rule out rides that might be scary for young ones. This is a great place to start looking for suitable rides and attractions for babies and toddlers at Disneyland Paris.
Don’t forget that parents can make use of the Rider Switch, so each parent can enjoy the ride without having to wait in line twice.
Do babies go free to Disneyland Paris?
Yes, children under 3 years old go free to Disneyland Paris.
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This post was written & edited by:
Sarah Randall-Baines
Sarah Randall-Baines, a mumma from England, UK, wasn't ok with the idea that 'when you have a baby everything has to stop' so she's doing her very best to prove that this isn't the case. They've managed to leave the country 4 times since bubba was born and he's just turning one next week!
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.